How Time Flies
by Zuvios Gemini
Summary: AU. Movie/Cartoon-verse. Lydia accidentally summons Beetlejuice after 5 long years of thinking about him. It's a good thing, too, because what she doesn't know is that someone from the Neitherworld is out to get them both! Rated T for language. COMPLETE
1. A Little Reunion

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BEETLEJUICE OR ANY OF THE ASSOCIATED CHARACTERS.**

**A/N: **My first Beetlejuice fanfic. Hope you like. :3

o-o-o-o-o

The giant sandworm reared its head and swallowed Beetlejuice, plummeting through the newly created hole in the Deetz's living room floor. Lydia jerked awake with her heart pounding against her ribs. She released the death grip she had on her sheets and sighed. Sitting up and stretching, she rubbed her face wearily. Night after night, the scene from that fateful night plagued her dreams. In the dream, she found herself powerless to do anything…

Five years… it had been five years since that horrible incident. Lydia's tired eyes scanned her room, pausing to rest on her jewelry box, where she knew a certain ring was hidden. She bit her lip and slowly pushed her sheets back, eyes locked on the black box on her vanity. She padded quietly across the floor and looked at herself in the mirror. She could hardly believe that the young woman staring back at her was really her.

Taking a deep breath, she tore her eyes away from the image in the vanity mirror and stared instead at the little black container. The lid creaked slightly as she opened the since-forgotten treasure trove. A soft smile touched upon her lips as she looked inside. Such treasures, most of which she had forgotten about. A plastic heart necklace from her 8th birthday, her first pair of real earrings, a ring from a boy who liked her in 3rd grade. She took them out one by one and placed them gently on the vanity.

Her smile slowly faded and her heart began to pound again. Sitting in the bottom of her beloved jewelry box, buried under her childhood memories, was a gold band. To anyone else, it looked like a normal ring. But Lydia knew better. That ring held more memories for her than anyone could understand; ghosts in the attic, locked doors, town models, killer shrimp, and a certain poltergeist in a black and white striped suit.

Of course, the color that stood out in her memory was red. The suit he wore was red, the bouquet she had was red, the bow in her hair had been red, and the giant flamboyant dress he had created for her had been red. She swallowed hard as her eyes traveled to her closet, where yet another forbidden treasure from her past was hidden.

Her parents had insisted that she throw it away, and she promised she would… but for some reason she just could not bring herself to throw the gorgeous article of clothing away. When the trashmen came, she hid the dress in the back of her closet and put an older dress in a garbage bag, speaking with an air of disgust about "the atrocious thing". She had continued her charade until she made it to her bedroom.

Lydia put the ring down gently and walked over to her closet. She opened the closet and touched the still-soft cloth of her would-be wedding dress. For some reason, an involuntary smile graced her face when she thought about it.

Her wedding dress.

She bit her lip again and looked around the room, even though she knew no one was watching. She slipped off her nightgown and took the dress off the hanger cautiously. A small smile formed on her lips as she pulled the dress over her head. She was amazed to find that it still fit. Lydia had grown in multiple ways sine she was 15. She had grown taller, by 2 inches at least, her hips had widened, and her bra size had jumped from an A to a C (thank God).

So how was it that the dress still fit her? She continued to stare in disbelief. The dress showed no change in length. Even though her height had increased, the hem still touched her ankles, just as it had during the ceremony. Suddenly, Lydia chuckled to herself. She felt silly for unconsciously thinking it was an ordinary dress.

All at once, the memory of her first meeting with… **him**… flashed through her mind.

"_Are you a ghost too?" She asked warily._

"_I'm the Ghost with the Most, babe." He smiled saucily._

She chuckled softly and shook her head. "He wasn't kidding…" She whispered, giving a quick twirl, watching the dress spin around her. All at once she stopped. His arrogant face appeared in her mind, sending it reeling and twisting her stomach in knots. She slumped to the floor frowning. Her dress puffed out around her like a rose, and she smoothed out a wrinkle. She sighed.

"Beetlejuice…"

Lydia covered her mouth at the sound of the banned name escaping her lips. She took a glance at her dress. Feeling bold, she swallowed the lump in her throat.

"… Beetlejuice…"

She felt stupid. She knew he wouldn't come. With a little flicker of the flame of hope in her heart, she squeezed her eyes shut and spoke one last time.

"Beetlejuice."

o-o-o-o-o

Beetlejuice lay on his back floating over his bed lazily smoking a cigarette. He groaned and turned over, leaving the cigarette to dangle from his lip as he drummed his fingers on the air, looking more irritated than usual.

He groaned again. "There's gotta be somethin' to do around here…" Not even 2 seconds later, he fell out of the air holding his head in surprise. It had been a while since he had felt that familiar jerk at the base of his skull.

He stood up, still shocked. A brief period later, another harder tug traveled down the length of his spine.

"Someone's… summoning me?..."

One final pull and Beetlejuice found himself tumbling through the portal between the Neitherworld and the Otherworld. He could have sworn he heard a gentle whisper as he fell.

_Beetlejuice…_

The echo surrounded him as the colors and shapes zoomed around him. The bizarre beautiful scene ended abruptly as the ground rushed up to meet him.

o-o-o-o-o

Lydia jumped as she heard a thud behind her. Slowly she turned and her eyes almost popped out of her head. Beetlejuice stood up cursing under his breath. "Damn portal… Where the hell am I?" He looked around the room, noticing how familiar it looked to him. "What the…"

Lydia's mouth hung slightly open and she felt like her body was frozen.

'He… he came. I don't believe it…'

Beetlejuice was in the process of brushing his suit off when he noticed the quiet sound of breathing. There was a breather in the room? He turned and fully faced the woman he now noticed was on the ground. "That dress…" He breathed.

She blushed (yep, definitely a breather) and stood up slowly. "Oh, this… Uhm… Yea…" Beetlejuice raised an eyebrow.

"Where did you get that dress? How did you know my name?" He asked, mildly annoyed.

The woman stared at the floor and fidgeted with her thumbs. "You had me guess, remember?"

In truth he didn't.

"And the dress. Well. I never got rid of it…"

Beetlejuice's mind was blank for a few seconds before both of his eyebrows shot up.

"… Lydia? Lydia Deetz?..."


	2. Didn't See That Coming

"Lydia? Lydia Deetz?" Beetlejuice asked with a hint of uncertainty. The beautiful red-clad creature in front of him nodded shyly. He chuckled and looked her up and down. "No way." Lydia was a short, sickly-pale, flat-chested child. This woman was anything but.

A sleazy smile split his face as he observed the way his juiced-up dress stretched across her breasts and hugged her hips and thighs in all the right places. He stuck his hands in his pockets and eyed Lydia carefully. "No way you're Lydia." Feeling a little hurt, Lydia let her gaze drop to the floor.

"The Lydia I know is a short, sick-looking _child_," he added emphasis on that word. "Who could pass for Edgar Allen Poe's daughter. You're, well. You're some kinda fuckin' hot goddess or some shit."

Even in the dark, Beetlejuice watched as Lydia's cheeks turned as red as the dress she was wearing. "I-it's been five years…" She mumbled. Beetlejuice ran his fingers through his blond hair.

"Oh yea, forgot you breathers grow." He chuckled.

Lydia nodded, still watching his every move. He had lost a lot of weight, and she was pretty sure there was a bit more moss on him than before, but other than that, he was still the same ghost she had met in her youth.

"Just to make sure you're really her, tell me something only Lydia would know." His challenge broke through her train of thought. Lydia thought carefully before answering.

"The first time I met you, you were lying in a deck chair under a heat lamp on the upper level of the Dante's Inferno whorehouse, in the model of Winter River that Adam built. You had me guess your name by playing charades, where you showed me a black beetle and a carton of orange juice pouring into a cup."

Beetlejuice held a look of approval on his face. "No one but Lyds coulda known that." Lydia quirked an eyebrow at the nickname. "Well, hell! What's shakin', babes?" He smiled wildly.

Another nickname? Lydia smiled.

"Uhm. Nothing much here." She shrugged.

"You still livin' with Chuck and Ms. Bitch?" Beetlejuice asked as he lit up a cigarette. Lydia giggled.

"Yes, sadly. You do know their names aren't—" Beetlejuice cut her off with a feral smile.

"Not in my book they ain't." He said, his gravelly voice dropping an octave.

Lydia giggled again. "Okay then. So, uh." She walked over to her bed and sat down. "Sorry about summoning you." She tugged at the sheets subconsciously. She watched as he walked around her room, looking at her belongings.

"Ehh don't worry about it babes, I was bored anyways." He drawled as he picked up a picture frame.

There was a woman with long black curly hair and chocolate brown eyes holding a little girl. They were both smiling and looked like they were having the time of their lives.

"And who's this?" Beetlejuice asked, waggling his eyebrows at Lydia. She smiled at the picture in his hands.

"That's me and my mother. My real mother." Beetlejuice looked at the picture, and then back to the smiling girl on the bed.

"I can see the resemblance." He commented. "Both of you are hot." He added with a big grin. Lydia blushed and shook her head.

"I'm not hot…"

Beetlejuice sputtered, rapidly switching his gaze between Lydia and the picture in his hands. "WHATEVER, Lyds!" He laughed before placing the photo back in its rightful spot. Lydia blushed harder.

"Well I'm not…" She mumbled.

Beetlejuice snorted and gave her a skeptical look. He ran his fingers through his blond dirty hair, watching her. Feeling uncomfortable, Lydia rose and cleared her throat. "Well, uh, I have work tomorrow so, uh—"

"You want me to leave." Beetlejuice finished for her with a grin, but Lydia noticed that it didn't reach his eyes.

"Uhm, yea," She glanced at her clock which read 2:46 am. "I get up pretty early." He nodded lazily, and Lydia saw something in his eyes; something strange that she couldn't quite place.

"Alright well. Send me home then." Lydia raised an eyebrow at the bitterness in his voice and felt guilty for some reason. He was once again aimlessly wandering her room, hands shoved deep in his pockets. Lydia was afraid to speak.

"You could… you could stay… if you don't want to, you know… go home…" Did she really just say that? Neither Lydia nor Beetlejuice could believe the words that had just left Lydia Deetz's mouth. Lydia didn't really want the perverted poltergeist in her room while she slept.

She suppressed a shiver when Beetlejuice turned and faced her, green eyes flashing. "Really." Against her will, she nodded.

"Really."

Beetlejuice's face split into a huge grin. Lydia jumped when she heard a popping sound and a little black and white spider appeared on her floor.

"Don't worry babes! You won't even know I'm here!" The spider assured her. She watched, giggling, as the cute arachnid climbed up her dresser and into the upper corner of her room. Her giggles quickly turned to laughs as she watched Beetlejuice attempt to create a web.

"DAMMIT, SCREW THIS!" He exclaimed, another popping noise revealing a green web beneath him. Lydia walked over to her discarded nightgown and picked it up.

"No peeking!" She warned. The spider grumbled, but covered its eyes with four legs anyways.

Lydia changed quickly and climbed into bed. "Goodnight Beej…" She slurred before slipping into a deep sleep.

'Beej?', Beetlejuice thought, moderately shocked by the nickname. Seeing no reason in ruining a good thing, he smiled and sat silently, watching Lydia sleep until morning came.


	3. Weird Thoughts

Lydia awoke with a start and quickly proceeded to pound her alarm clock into the snooze position. Yawning, she rolled over and stared at the wall. 'What a weird dream…' She could have sworn Beetlejuice had visited her in her sleep. Shrugging, she rolled over on her back.

"HIYA LYDS!"

Lydia screamed and fell out of bed. Sitting on her bed was a black and white cat. She blinked twice, and then blinked again. "… Beetle—"

"ACK NO DON'T SAY THAT!" The cat shrieked. Lydia giggled. The cat disappeared with a pop, and Beetlejuice sat pouting on her bed. "You almost sent me back…" He lamented.

Lydia chuckled and got up. "Drama queen." She walked to her closet. She heard another pop and a little fluffy black and white dog sauntered up next to her. The dog plopped down on his haunches and began to scratch a particularly irritating itch behind his ear.

"I'm not bein' dramatic, I'm just sayin'…"

Lydia smiled and looked through her work clothes. She did her best to ignore the piercing jade eyes that she knew were watching her. "Hmm, today seems like a blue day." She pulled out a navy suit. Beetlejuice wrinkled his nose.

"What the hell are you wearin' that for?" He questioned. He popped back to his normal self and began to dig through her closet.

"Hey!" Lydia protested, but he ignored her.

"What can't ya wear somethin' like this?" He asked and pulled out a very skimpy silver dress. Lydia blushed and grabbed the dress, smiling.

"Beej, I'm going to WORK, not a cocktail party."

Beetlejuice pulled his signature skeptic look and crossed his arms. "Just what kinda job do ya fuckin' have, Lyds?" He asked, clearly put-out. Lydia carefully put the dress back in its spot.

"I'm a curator at the local art museum."

Beetlejuice looked bewildered. "There's an art museum here?" Lydia laughed.

"There is now. I requested it a few years back, so they built it." She went through her underwear drawer and found some black dress socks. Beetlejuice raised an eyebrow.

"Got anything interesting in there?" Lydia stood up suddenly.

"BEEJ!"

He jumped back and held both hands up in front of him. "I MEANT THE MUSEUM I MEANT THE MUSEUM! Honest Lyds!" He insisted. Lydia cocked an eyebrow but continued setting out her outfit.

"No… Not me." She said quietly. Beetlejuice frowned slightly.

"But I thought ya loved that art stuff." Lydia smiled softly.

"I do. I still do. But they only wanted things from people that mattered, like Da Vinci and Sanzio…"

Beetlejuice frowned more. "Those old guys? They don't matter. Can't stand 'em myself… all they wanna talk about is art and painting and shit like that." He mumbled. Lydia looked at him, interested.

"You've met them?" Beetlejuice raised an eyebrow. Lydia blushed.

"Oh, right, you're dead…"

Beetlejuice chuckled. "Nice one, babes." Lydia blushed harder.

"Shut up… It's early." She turned and smiled at her outfit. "There… Now go sit in the corner or something. I have to change." She said matter-of-factly.

"Aww but Lyyydddsss…" Beetlejuice pouted.

"NOW!" She said and pointed to the corner. Beetlejuice popped into a dog and slunk away.

"Fun sucker…"

She chuckled to herself. Changing quickly, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Beetlejuice relaxing quietly in the corner with his head on his paws, eyes shut, breathing slowly. All sense of malice was gone. She smiled softly, almost lovingly. When Beetlejuice opened his eyes and set them on her, she turned around and tried to hide her smile.

She opened her jewelry box and was looking for a necklace when she heard the familiar pop and heard Beetlejuice come up behind her.

"You should wear that one." His voice softly suggested. She looked at the silver chain in her hands. It was tinsel-thin and there was a small diamond shaped like a heart on the end.

"My mother wore this on her wedding day. I've seen it in the pictures." Lydia said slowly.

Beetlejuice said nothing. He simply couldn't take his eyes off of Lydia. She put the chain around her neck and fumbled with the clasp. After a few seconds of struggling, she turned to Beetlejuice and looked at him, smiling helplessly. He chuckled and took the necklace from her. She pulled her raven hair up off her neck and turned her back to him.

Beetlejuice willed his hands to stop shaking as he reached around her and fastened the clasp. A weird thought crossed his mind. Lydia had a beautiful neck. He had the sudden urge to kiss it. He quirked an eyebrow at himself. Definitely weird.

Lydia turned back around and smiled at him. "Thanks. So… How do I look?" In all honesty, Beetlejuice couldn't think of the right words to describe her. Why was he having these weird thoughts and problems? He chuckled to himself. There was going to be some serious thinking time later.

"You look great, Lyds." He said smoothly. Just to make sure she didn't catch on to his weird behavior, he added. "Not as good as you'd look in that silver dress but…" Lydia laughed and pushed him.

"Shut up, I'm not wearing that. I haven't worn that in years."

Beetlejuice looked at her in interest. "What was the occasion?" Lydia shrugged.

"Senior Prom. Nothing huge." Beetlejuice gave her a shocked look.

"Nothin' huge? Senior Prom? Back when I was a senior in highschool, we didn't have prom." He stated.

Lydia laughed. "Damn you're old then." Beetlejuice stuck his tongue out at her.

"Shaddup."

Lydia's laughs died down, and she looked over at her closet. "It really wasn't a big deal… I mean, I didn't go with anyone special."

"Really? A knock-out like you, and no one asked ya?" Beetlejuice asked, amazed. Lydia sat down on the floor and began to tie her shoes.

"I never said that. I said no one **important**. I did go with someone, but… He was just a guy I knew." She shrugged again.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, as was his custom, Beetlejuice leaned against the wall. "Oh, so the guy you wanted to ask you didn't?" Nothing prepared him for what she said next.

"How could he? He wasn't there…" She mumbled, still sitting on the floor. Without another word, she stood up abruptly and grabbed her purse. "I'll see you after work, B." She strode out of the room and shut the door.

Beetlejuice couldn't help but feel that her comment had been directed at him. He sighed and floated on his back, staring at the ceiling. "Things keep gettin' weirder and weirder…"


	4. Infiltration

Lydia drove down the road with her radio blaring. Why did she say that?

"_How could he? He wasn't there…"_

She shook her head. Idiot. Suddenly finding the music distracting, she turned the radio off angrily. "Why couldn't I just keep my comments to myself?" She mumbled.

Not seeing the red light ahead, she slammed on her brakes at the last second, almost hitting a man crossing the road. She waved her hand to apologize, but her wave stopped cold. The way the man looked at her gave her chills. His icy blue eyes stared at her before continuing across the road. She stomped on the gas when the light turned green, eager to get away from the strange man. The man stared after her.

His whispery voice met no one's ears but his own. "Found you… Betelgeuse should be close by then…" He glanced around and, seeing that no one was paying attention to him, ducked behind a bush. He morphed his body into a bird and quickly took off following after Lydia.

o-o-o-o-o

Beetlejuice wandered aimlessly through the house, since Delia and Charles weren't home. There had to be something to do around this place. He wasn't about to just sit in Lydia's room until she got home. He had already gone through everyone's stuff (except Lydia's. He knew better) and had written all over the bathroom mirrors with toothpaste. Well, okay. He had doodled a bunch of stick figures, specifically a more muscular version of himself stepping on the Deetz's. He then thought twice, and drew a giant Lydia stepping on him.

He had considered writing his name, like those lousy artists did, but he was sure Lydia would kill him for giving her parents heart attacks. He chuckled at the thought of their faces when they saw "Betelgeuse" written in curly cursive on their mirror. It would have been quite humorous, but still, the thought of Lydia coming home and seeing that, and how she'd react made him shiver, so he sighed dejectedly and forgot the idea.

He floated around the house on his stomach, seeing as there was nothing much else to do. He began to amuse himself, rearranging different object in the house; nothing serious, but just enough to drive Delia insane. He cackled and imagined the frazzled red-haired woman shrieking and rushing about, putting everything back.

Boredom once again overcame him, and he settled down on the couch in the living room. His thoughts wandered to what Lydia had said to him before she left. He closed his eyes.

"Man… Didn't think I screwed up that badly… I mean, it wasn't my fault I left! That damn hick sent that sandworm after me!" He frowned at the thought.

"Shit. Lyds is probably really mad at me then. But if she was mad… why'd she call me?"

All of this asking himself questions was giving him a headache. Still, he couldn't grasp a single reason why Lydia Deetz would call him back… I mean, she hated him, right? He furrowed his brow. But if she hated him, why was she so mad about her senior prom? I mean, not that he would have gone, but still.

Why did he feel bad? What the hell. Lydia wasn't a big deal. He was just staying here with her so he didn't have to go back home. Home was boring. Satisfied with his self-given lie, Beetlejuice sat back on the couch smiling.

o-o-o-o-o

Lydia ran up the steps and into her boss's office.

"I am so sorry I'm late, Mr. Blackburn." She gasped out. The skinny man behind the desk looked up at her from behind his wire rim glasses. His brown eyes watched the flustered girl before him, and smiled.

"Lydia, being late one day out of the 240 days you work isn't going to end the world, I assure you." His heavy southern accent soothed. She smiled back weakly.

"Yea I know." She left the office and went to her locker to put her purse and things away. She paused and thought back to that man she almost hit. The way his blue eyes had watched her gave her chills. They were an unnatural blue, and they felt like they were prying into her very soul. Suppressing a shiver, she walked back out of the locker room, shutting and locking the door.

The day crawled by slowly after the events of the morning. A few field trips came into the museum, along with just regular members, but no one interesting came in, much to Lydia's slight disappointment. People-watching usually made the day go by faster.

o-o-o-o-o

With all the people entering and exiting the museum, no one noticed the small spider that snuck inside. It scuttled across the tile floor and under the door to Mr. Blackburn's office. Observing the man, it wasted no time climbing up his leg and into his lap, where his hand rested.

Bearing its fangs, it bit him.

"Ouch!" The man exclaimed before being claimed by a deep sleep. The spider leapt off the man and materialized back into a man. A handsome man at that.

His icy blue eyes stared at the man in the chair. He blinked, which would have looked extremely strange to anyone in the room, because his eyelids shut vertically instead of horizontally, not unlike a lizard. His bangs hung in his face, so he shook out his knee-length dark purple hair and then glanced around the room. He picked a piece of lint off of his white collared shirt, and shoved his hands in his leather pants under his black duster coat. His black combat boots reverberated loudly off of the walls in the silent office.

He pushed the chair, with Mr. Blackburn in it, to the side.

"Pardon me." He said, more just to amuse himself than anything. He stood in front of the computer, searching through the employee files. His blue eyes darted back and forth, reading at a speed that no human could keep up with. He flicked his blue tongue across his white fangs, thin fingers typing quickly. He didn't want to get caught and have to wipe someone's memory.

He heard footsteps approaching, and hung his head, sighing heavily.

"Of course…" He drawled, and stood upright. The door opened and a timid-looking brunette walked in.

"Mr. Blackburn I just wanted to make sure— Oh." She stopped short at the sight of the man standing at the desk. Her eyes flicked to the side and saw Mr. Blackburn in the chair. Her eyes widened. She looked back at the man, who was now smiling at her, showing off his canines.

"Hello, darlin'." He spoke softly before his eyes flashed and the girl collapsed in a wave of blue energy. He smiled wider and chuckled.

"Damn, I was hoping I wouldn't have to do that. Sorry, love. You picked the wrong time to walk in." He shook his head before turning back to the computer.

o-o-o-o-o

Beetlejuice bolted upright, awoken from his nap. 'That energy… it can't be…' He thought worriedly. 'There's only one person I know that has an energy signature like that…' He stood and strode out the door, dreading what he would find upon arriving to Lydia's work.

"Can it be you…? Levak?"

o-o-o-o-o

**A/N: Holy hell an UPDATE! Sorry guys, I've been super busy with my other story **_**Indisputable**_**. But yea, anyways, I'm back. R&R please. The plot bunnies seriously need you guys!**


	5. Aim, Fire, Miss

A/N: Hmm, this story is still unfolding in my brain so if this chapter seems dragged out, I apologize. Sorry it took so long as well.

o-o-o-o-o

No one paid attention to the flustered man rushing through the city in the direction of the plasmic energy spike. If they had, they would have noticed a strange green glow around him. But as stated before, no one really paid attention.

Beetlejuice didn't even care that someone might see the glow. He was fully focused on finding Lydia before Levak did… if it was Levak. He still wasn't sure. The energy he had sensed was similar to Levak's, but somehow it was different from what he remembered… stronger… more malicious… it worried him greatly.

'Dammit, Lydia… I shoulda asked where she worked…'

Beetlejuice stopped and glanced around, searching for any sign of the museum. A city map caught his eye. Rushing up to it, he quickly scanned the map and found the museum's location.

'Hang on, Lyds.' He took off in the direction the map had indicated.

o-o-o-o-o

Levak kicked back in the office chair, reading over Lydia's employee file.

"Hmm, 20 years old, college student, all A's, working here for 2 years, assistant curator of the Renaissance art department, lives at home. Ah, there; lives at home." Levak smiled.

"Now all I need is the address." He scanned the document quickly. Finding the address, he memorized it and closed out the window on the screen, erasing the history so no one would know he was snooping around. He re-opened the window Mr. Blackburn had be previously viewing and put him back in his chair, making it seem like he had fallen asleep at his desk.

Levak's satisfaction was interrupted. He tensed and looked around.

"Beetlejuice?" A slow smile spread across his face followed by a dark chuckle.

"Come for me, have you… That's too bad. Our meeting will have to be rescheduled." He laughed, morphing into a hawk and careening out of the window.

'You'll get your chance, friend, don't worry.' He thought as he flew away from the museum. 'We've both got some unattended business to attend to…'

o-o-o-o-o

Lydia was cleaning up for the day when one of the clipboard-holding desk workers came into the locker room.

"Ms. Deetz?"

Lydia turned and smiled as the woman glanced at the front page of her notes.

"There's a man named 'BJ' to see you. He says it's urgent. He seemed flustered."

Lydia's smile disappeared.

"O-oh. Okay. I'll be right out…" She stammered. The girl left and Lydia threw all of her belongings into her purse.

'Dammit, Beej. What could possibly be so important that you couldn't wait for me to come home?'

She stormed out of the locker room and stopped short, seeing Beetlejuice sitting waiting for her… only. He wasn't Beetlejuice. There was no way.

Beetlejuice looked cleaner. There wasn't any dirt on him. Anywhere. Which was weird, especially for him. He never used to mind what he looked like when he went out with her or her family. His usually stringy hair was now sitting on his shoulders in soft gold-blonde waves. He was dressed in black jeans and a white button-up shirt, looking very much the civilian he was masquerading as. He was still pale, but not in a been-dead-for-over-600-years way. The only thing that gave him away was the eerie glow in his dark green eyes, but Lydia was sure she was the only one who could see it.

Lydia walked over to him and crossed her arms over her chest, clearing her throat. His head snapped up.

"LYDS! Oh thank god!" He breathed a sigh of relief, grabbing her into a hug. She sat stunned. Beetlejuice suddenly realized what he was doing and let go of her quickly. After a questioning look from her, he looked around at the people now staring at them.

"Uh, I'll explain later." He went to leave but was stopped when Lydia stepped in front of him.

"Oh no you don't. You better tell me why this was urgent. It's bad enough you showed up here." She scolded. Beetlejuice looked at the woman standing before him and sighed.

"Fine. But let's go home first, okay?" He turned and walked out the door. Lydia followed him outside to find him sitting in a very attractive green sports car.

"Where'd you get a car?" She asked suspiciously.

"Ghost with the Most, babes." and a grin was all she got in response. Rolling her eyes, the goth woman slid into the passenger seat. The engine roared and they sped off towards her house, attracting many stares and appreciative sounds.

Upon arrival, Lydia glared at Beetlejuice.

"Now, what's the big idea, Beej? It couldn't wait until I got home?"

Beetlejuice got out of the car and, after Lydia followed suit, locked it.

"Can we go inside first?" He said softly. Raising an eyebrow at his bizarre behavior, Lydia walked up the steps and unlocked the door, watching Beetlejuice enter the house but not before looking over his shoulder and taking a quick look around.

She closed the door and sat down on the couch.

"You're acting weird. Spill. Now." She stated. The poltergeist looked at her nervously before finally relenting and kicking back midair.

"Alright alright fine. I was just makin' sure that you were safe is all. No big deal, really." He fluffed. After Lydia shot him a skeptic look, however, he sighed.

"Alright that's not all. I just… felt something. Bad."

Lydia raised an eyebrow and looked perplexed.

"Felt something bad? Like what? What are you talking about?" She asked.

Beetlejuice didn't answer immediately, and Lydia was about to ask him again when he began to speak.

"We all know I'm not the most famous Ghost there is out there. Maybe the most _infamous_, but not everyone likes me. Well, there's one guy that's been after my hide for years; I'm talkin' centuries here. Now, I'm strong, probably the strongest, but this guy? He's been closing the gap between our powers for years." He looked at Lydia somberly, who was listening intently.

"In fact, I haven't seen or heard from him for a while, so it wouldn't surprise me if he was as strong as me now. He seems to also know that you hang around with me, so I was worried he'd go after you first."

Lydia's brown eyes were wide as she leaned forward.

"Is this a joke Beej? Are you serious that there's a guy after you?"

Beetlejuice came down from his midair perch and folded his hands, looking serious.

"I'm not kiddin' this time, Lyds. This guy is hell-bent on getting me. We've had our run-ins in the past, and I've managed to get away from him every time, but if he's really found a way to get to the real world, I just might be in some serious shit. He wants me, and he wants me dead."

Lydia opened her mouth.

"Ghosts can die too, Lydia." The use of her real name made her fall silent again.

"It's called exorcism, and it's very real. I've been dead for more than 700 years, and I'm not ready to leave yet. I've got so much left in me." He finished hollowly.

Lydia took a second to absorb everything she had been told before looking at Beetlejuice once more.

"What's his name?"

His glowing green eyes locked onto hers.

"Levak. His name is Levak."

o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Reviews please. Sorry this took so long!


	6. Someone New

A/N: GAH totally forgot about this. Damn. I blame the holidays… and FanFiction. I've been reading so much; I've forgotten that I myself am a writer. -fail- Anyways, enjoy.

o-o-o-o-o

Levak sat perched outside the living room window in the form of a spider, watching Beetlejuice talk to Lydia. He frowned. Whatever he was telling her was making her worried. Growing tired of waiting, Levak almost made himself known, but froze when he saw his name form on Beetlejuice's lips. A fang-filled grin covered his arachnid face.

"Telling her about me already? Good god, you must miss me." He hissed to himself before laughing and hoping down and scuttling across the yard.

"I think I may need to reunite with you sooner than I thought."

o-o-o-o-o

"How did you meet Levak?" Lydia asked curiously. Beetlejuice's eyes took on a distant look.

"That's just it. No matter what I do, I can't remember. I know I knew him before I died, but I can't remember where. He knows, because he always tells me it's my fault that he died, but he never tells me why it's my fault." He shrugged. Lydia looked thoughtful.

"That's interesting. So you think he's here in town?"

"I know he is. There's no one else I know that has that energy signature. I just don't know where in town he is. He has this bad habit of just showing up and catching me off-guard." Beetlejuice admitted. Lydia nodded and smiled.

"Well, we'll be ready for him."

"We?"

"Yes, we." Lydia crossed her arms. "You don't think I'm going to let you face Levak by yourself do you?" Beetlejuice looked like he had just swallowed a sandworm egg.

"Are you fuckin' crazy? I'm not lettin' you anywhere near him! He'd use you against me!" Lydia quirked an eyebrow at him, and he realized what he had just said.

"Because, uhh, you hang around with me and uhh he'd think you're important to me." He said lamely. Lydia still looked at him skeptically, but decided not to ask about it at the moment.

o-o-o-o-o

Hidden in an abandoned building, Levak scoffed.

"How cliché that I'm hiding here." He frowned and paced for a few minutes before growing impatient again.

"It's too early to approach Beetlejuice…" He suddenly grinned wolfishly. "But not too early to cause some damage and leave it for him to clean up." He chuckled to himself and created a little orb of light, staring into it until he saw Lydia lying in her bed asleep.

"Or better yet, get acquainted with Ms. Lydia Deetz." His blue eyes flashed.

o-o-o-o-o

Beetlejuice awoke with a start, panting. Without even caring if the Deetz's heard him, he tore up the stairs and into Lydia's room, throwing open the door. He relaxed when he saw Lydia sleeping peacefully.

"Beej?" She mumbled and opened her eyes. Beetlejuice looked sheepish.

"Uhh, hiya Lyds. Sorry for waking you. I just… yea." He went to leave but he heard her get up so he stopped.

"I know you. You wouldn't come tearing up the stairs and wake me up for nothing." He turned and looked at her. She looked so different without her makeup on, but no less beautiful.

"Just had a dream I guess. It's nothin' really." He shrugged at her. Believing him was the farthest thing on Lydia's mind.

"You sure? What kind of dream?" She pressed. Beetlejuice shrugged again. He had a way of shrugging a lot when he lied.

"Nothin', I told you." He insisted. Lydia stared at him for a second before relenting.

"Alright. Good night. I've got work tomorrow." Saying nothing more, she got back into bed and rolled over with her back to him. Taking that as a sign to leave, Beetlejuice left the room, shutting the door quietly.

o-o-o-o-o

Lydia walked into work, expecting work to go the same as it always did.

"_Lydia Deetz to Mr. Blackburn's office, Lydia Deetz to Mr. Blackburn's office, thank you."_

She finished putting her stuff in her locker and headed to her manager's office. When she entered, there was a young man sitting in the chair in front of her boss' desk. After standing awkwardly in the doorway, Lydia finally cleared her throat, getting the attention of both men.

"Ah Lydia, please come in." Mr. Blackburn said, waving her into the room. She shut the door behind her and walked over to take the seat next to the man.

"Lydia, I'd like you to meet Liam. We just hired him today. He's going to be your assistant."

Lydia looked at the young man sitting next to her. He had black hair cut military-style and blue eyes. He smiled and offered his hand, which she gripped, returning his smile.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Deetz."

"Lydia, please. Nice to meet you too."

Mr. Blackburn briefed Liam on his duties, explained to Lydia what was expected of her, and dismissed both of them. They left the office in silence.

Feeling awkward, Lydia smiled.

"So Liam, what brings you to our museum?" Liam shrugged.

"Art has always been a passion of mine. I've just never been that good at it, so I figure, if I can't be in the museum, I might as well work in it, right?" He chuckled. Lydia laughed and nodded.

o-o-o-o-o

Lydia came home with a smile plastered on her face. She laughed when the familiar black-and-white dog sauntered up to her, tail wagging. Beetlejuice's newest custom was to meet her at the door after work, since Delia and Charles both had day jobs and were never home.

"Hiya Lyds. You seem to be in a good mood." He quipped before popping back to himself. Lydia shrugged and put her belongings on the table.

"Yea I guess. I got an assistant today. His name's Liam. We clicked right away." Beetlejuice kept himself from feeling jealous when Lydia smiled.

"He's my age, although I don't remember seeing him around here before."

"Maybe he moved here from Loserville…" Beetlejuice's mumbled sentence didn't go unnoticed, but Lydia decided to not say anything.

"Maybe my job will get more interesting now that I'll have someone with me to talk to." She watched for a reaction from Beetlejuice. His eyes flashed for a moment before he covered it up with a smile.

"That's cool."

Lydia resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow at his strange behavior as of lately, but again decided against it. She settled for simply nodding and making her way to the kitchen to start dinner before Delia and Charles got home.

o-o-o-o-o

Levak watched the event unfold in his ball of light, chuckling at Beetlejuice's reaction.

"Don't be jealous, Beetle. You hardly had a chance before." With another chuckle, he engulfed the ball in his palm, eliminating it from sight.

Staring out the broken window, Levak allowed his mind to wander back to the days before he died. His expression crumbled into one of pained rage.

"Why do you not remember?... Austin."

o-o-o-o-o

A/N: I AM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAYED UPDATE! School has been Hell. -head desk- Hopefully things will calm down this semester. Review! I'm sorry again. -offers cookies as compensation-


	7. Compromised

A/N: Dude… I procrastinate something fierce…

o-o-o-o-o

Beetlejuice glared out the window after Lydia. She was always talking about that Liam guy. It really bugged him (no pun intended). Ever since _he_ showed up, Lydia had been pay less attention to Beetlejuice and spending more time at the office, even on the weekends!

He just didn't get it. What made her more interested in that guy? Was it because he was alive? Because that problem was easy to fix…

Sighing, Beetlejuice resorted to floating around the house, sulking as usual. In fact, he was so busy sulking that he didn't notice the faint energy of someone else in the house.

o-o-o-o-o

It had taken Levak a while to make up a good enough excuse for 'Liam' to miss work, but it had worked. Carefully, he had made his way to the Deetz house, making sure Lydia had left before entering through her bedroom window. He knew Beetlejuice would be too busy to sense him, but just to be safe he stayed in his spider form.

Creeping across the floor, he began to look around at all of Lydia's things. She really was every bit the artist she acted at work. It was such a shame that she was only a tool in his plan; he was starting to like her. She had such a unique way of thinking and they did actually share similar interests. He frowned.

That was always a bad sign; God forbid he develops Lima Syndrome and lets her go. He shook his arachnid head and continued his exploring.

Aside from the occasional hidden sketch of Beetlejuice, Levak found nothing interesting. Sighing in defeat, he debated on heading downstairs and surprising Beetlejuice. However, as he neared the kitchen, he could feel the waves of jealous energy coming from Beetlejuice and, after realizing it was because Lydia was at work with 'Liam', decided to leave the poltergeist alone… for now.

With that decision made, Levak quickly made himself scarce before Beetlejuice could sense him. He had better things to do at that moment.

o-o-o-o-o

Beetlejuice had been watching the clock for the past hour. His leg bounced up and down irritably, his thumbs tapping in time with his leg. One eyebrow remained in a cocked position, while the other sat low in his brow. His eyes remained unblinking until they burned. A corner of his mouth was turned down in a nasty grimace. In short, Beetlejuice was not happy.

Not. One. Bit.

Lydia was late.

o-o-o-o-o

Lydia opened her eyes to darkness. She blinked for a moment before she actually realized it. Her head was filled with a fog, making it hard for her to remember how she got here. She was on her way home from work and then… she couldn't remember. She struggled, realizing that she couldn't move.

All at once, she was blinded by a light. She squeezed her eyes shut, a small squeak escaping her lips. She heard the sound of someone approaching her, so slowly she forced her star-filled eyes open. It took longer than she had anticipated for them to focus, so for a moment all she saw in front of her was a large black blob with purple at the top.

Squinting, she tried to focus as the blob began to talk to her in a smooth even tone.

"Sorry about the lights… I couldn't steal any that were dimmer."

There was an odd sense of mocking in his tone. She didn't like it.

"I'm sure you're wondering where you are. Lydia, was it?"

Her eyes widened as she took in the person in front of her. He looked like he just jumped off the page of a comic… he looked familiar to her in some way.

"You know my name?" She said carefully, watching as the man took a step closer to her, his hands behind his back. He stood upright and straight; complete authoritative posture.

"Yes."

Lydia stared at him for a moment longer before gasping. His icy blue eyes blinked at her.

"You're… you're…" She stammered.

The man rolled his eyes.

"C'mon say it, I know you can. I know _Beetlejuice_ told you." He drawled. Lydia continued to stare. An aggravated noise ripped out of his throat.

"This isn't Harry Potter. You ARE allowed to say my name." He hissed.

"You're Levak." She finally managed to choke out.

Levak threw his hands up in mock celebration.

"THANK GOD!" He exclaimed, his fake expression of joy disappearing and instantly being replaced with a glare. Lydia shied away when he came to stand directly in front of her.

"You wanna know who else I am?" He said in a low voice. Lydia finally got her nerve back, looking him in the eye disdainfully.

"I can guess." She mumbled. A sneer formed on Levak's face.

"You didn't really change your face structure much, _Liam_." She spat.

The man shrugged with a smirk and turned back around to face the darkness surrounding them.

"I didn't need to. I hadn't expected to be meeting you this early." He spun back around dramatically, his hair whipping.

"BUT certain circumstances changed my plans. So here we are." He swept his arms out in a wide arc with a smile.

Lydia looked around, still just seeing darkness.

"Where is 'here'?" She asked carefully, earning a laugh from Levak.

"Does it matter? You're stuck with me until Beetlejuice realizes that you won't be coming home tonight. Too bad." He purred. Lydia struggled for another question, a reason to keep him talking and distracted.

"What do you want with me? Why not just go after Beej like you always do?"

Levak laughed.

"Beej… that's cute… because. He's always so hard to catch and always beats me, I'm afraid. But this time…" He stepped closer to her, hooking a sharp finger under her chin.

"I have something he wants and he'll have to fight me to get it back."

o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Wooow I am such a lazy ass… I've been in the process of typing this for at least a month… juggling that and my other stories and school and graduation and college stuff and LIFE… yea. Not fun. Anyway, review please. Sorry it took so long!


	8. Breaking Point

A/N: Our story will soon be coming to a close. :D

o-o-o-o-o

Beetlejuice stood from the couch with a snarl.

"Okay this is fuckin' ridiculous! Lydia shoulda been home hours ago. Gotta find her…"

He ran out the front door, not exactly sure where he was going yet. All at once he skidded to a stop, staring into the window on a building.

"Hello old friend."

Levak's face was staring out at him smiling. Beetlejuice approached the window with caution, being careful not to get too close.

"Levak…?"

The person in the window smiled slyly at him.

"The one and only." Levak sneered.

Beetlejuice glanced around to make sure no one was looking before he glared into the window.

"What the hell do you want? I've got more important things to be worrying about then our next fight." He half-snarled. Levak cocked an eyebrow and rested his chin on his fist.

"Like finding Lydia?"

Beetlejuice felt his pulse quicken.

"… what did you do?" He almost whispered. Levak laughed, looking at his sharp nails vainly.

"What makes you think I have her?" He teased, peering at Beetlejuice again. Beetlejuice felt his rage seeping into his veins. He pounded on the glass, unintentionally making it crack slightly.

"Where the hell is Lydia?" He yelled. Levak chuckled when he saw that Beetlejuice's eyes were glowing green. His own eyes flashed blue.

"Why don't you come and find her?" He challenged. With a yell, Beetlejuice forced his way thru Levak's portal. The demon leapt back just in time for the Poltergeist to crash to the floor in a tangle of limbs, cursing violently.

"Not one of your better landings." Levak quipped, watching with amusement when Beetlejuice glared up at him and jumped to his feet. Beetlejuice's hands were clenched at his sides as he stared his enemy down.

"I'm only gonna ask one more time; Where. Is. Lydia."

Levak cocked his head, scratching his chin, looking for the entire world to see as nonchalant as he could possibly look.

"Instead of demanding things from me, why don't you use your eyes and look for her." He drawled.

The poltergeist glared darkly, his eyes turning to glowing green slits.

"Beej?"

A small voice broke Beetlejuice out of his trance. He turned around and around, looking in every possible direct he could. Levak's brow creased slightly. That woman was supposed to be unconscious, damn her.

"Lyds? Where are ya? Speak to me Lyds!" Beetlejuice yelled as he started to walk around the dark area. Levak let loose a slow hiss.

Beetlejuice found Lydia tied to a post in a corner of the room.

"Lydia what—"

"BEEJ WATCH OUT!"

Beetlejuice turned around in time to duck a punch from Levak that collided instead with the wall behind Lydia, leaving a cracked crater. The demon tore his hand out of the wall, taking pieces of debris with him, and whipped around growling. Beetlejuice stood up again, taken aback.

"I didn't bring her here for you to play hide-and-seek. I brought her here to get to you!" Levak yelled, shoving Beetlejuice away from Lydia and standing in front of her himself.

"We have business together. I've been stuck in Hell for hundreds of years waiting for this. And I am NOT about to let you GET AWAY!" With a final yell, Levak manifested his rage in the form of a ball of energy and threw it at Beetlejuice.

Beetlejuice knocked it away with some difficulty, stumbling back a step. Levak's hair lifted and moved of its own accord, adding to his already spooky appearance. His blue eyes glowed and his fangs lengthened. He roared as his face contorted into a look of pure blood-thirsty rage.

Dark lines traced their way across his face. They started next to his nose, going straight across his cheek bones and then tracing the line of his jaw, stopping halfway between his chin and his ear. Two smaller lines formed under his eyes, making him look like an angry tribal God.

Beetlejuice stared at the seething snarling demon. Levak had never reacted like this before; he for once in his life had no clue; no ideas; no plan B. Levak took another step forward, keeping himself between Beetlejuice and Lydia, who had fallen silent.

"Levak…?" Beetlejuice asked cautiously, receiving a hiss in return. He put on a brave face.

"Levak, I'll fight you to your heart's content. Just leave Lydia out of it. She doesn't know about us; about our history." He dove out of the way of another ball. He stood up in time for Levak to grab him by his collar. He didn't struggle.

"Our history?" Levak snarled. "Is that all it is to you? HISTORY?" He punched Beetlejuice in the face, sending him reeling. The poltergeist recovered slowly, his head full of static. He tried to focus on the words Levak was throwing at him.

"You ungrateful!—!" Another ball.

"Inconsiderate—!" Another punch.

"Son of a—!" Beetlejuice finally caught his arm, wrenching it behind the demon.

"LEVAK STOP! What the hell is your problem? Aside from the obvious." He demanded, keeping a tight hold of Levak's wrist when he began to squirm.

"You've never acted like this. GAH—" He flew backwards away from the kick that Levak had managed to land.

Lydia watched all of this unfold in horror. This normally would seem amazing to her… except for the fact that Beetlejuice was getting the hell beaten out of him by a homicidal demon with a huge grudge, and that she was tied to a post.

Beetlejuice sat up, staring up at the looming Levak.

"You never came for me!" Levak shrieked. Beetlejuice's eyes widened with recognition shining behind them.

"Is that what this is about…?"

Levak kicked him in the face, splitting his lip.

"THAT'S ALL IT'S EVER BEEN ABOUT! You were just too busy living the high life to see it!" He grabbed the dazed Poltergeist by his shirt, lifting him.

"You left me!" He yelled. Beetlejuice managed to focus his blurry vision on Levak, panting.

"I can explain—"

"NO! I don't want to hear it!" Levak shrieked, throwing Beetlejuice to the ground. Beetlejuice sat up on his elbows, looking hurt. Lydia's eyes widened when she realized that Levak had tears streaming down his face.

"I don't want to hear ANYTHING you have to say!" He sobbed. "You were selfish then, I don't see why you'd change now. You're selfish and arrogant and—"

"GODDAMMIT AUSTIN I DIED LOOKIN' FOR YOU!" Beetlejuice yelled, stopping Levak dead in his tracks. He hadn't been called by his real name for ages…

"… What…?"

Levak's tribal lines faded and his hair calmed down, coming to rest limply across his shoulders. Beetlejuice slowly got to his feet with a groan, facing Levak. Neither man seemed to remember that they had an audience; an audience who was very interested in what happened between them.

"I searched for you; for months. I hardly slept, hardly ate, hardly did anything but tromp thru that goddamn jungle looking for you. How do you think I died Levak? You think I just died like everyone else? Look at me! I don't look any different do I."

Levak stared with wide eyes, looking far younger than he had two minutes ago.

"No…" He answered quietly.

"You wanna know why? You ready to listen to me?" Beetlejuice said calmly. Levak reluctantly nodded.


	9. Redemption

A/N: Here is the last chapter. I may have an epilogue. Thank you so much to everyone who came on this journey with me and reviewed to keep me motivated! :D

_Italics _indicate a flashback or story.

o-o-o-o-o

"You ready to listen to me?" Beetlejuice said calmly. Levak reluctantly nodded.

"They called me Lancer in those days… Marcus Lancer…" Beetlejuice began.

_The year was 1422 in a rain forest in Africa. A blonde man in a military uniform cut down a branch in his path and wiped some sweat from his brow._

"_Come in Lieutenant Lancer. Lieutenant Lancer, over."_

_The blonde picked up the walkie talkie at his side._

"_Lancer here. Go ahead, over."_

"_Marcus, we got orders from HQ. You need to abandon the mission, over."_

_Marcus' face flushed angrily._

"_NO." He yelled, disturbing some nearby birds in the trees._

"_I refuse to fuckin' leave him out here. I'll keep searchin'! I'll keep searchin' until I die, you hear me! 'Til I'm fuckin' dead!" He yelled into the speaker, shutting it off completely. Fuming, Marcus began making his way thru the jungle with renewed energy, slicing away at branches and plants that dared to stand in his way._

_He would find his missing companion one way or another…_

_The day wore on, and Marcus was starting to really feel the heat. He was low on water and food. The sun streamed thru the spots in the trees, filling the air with a sticky mist. The blonde officer wiped sweat off of his face, panting slightly._

"_Dammit Greenwald where are you…"_

_Marcus finally found a large pond hidden behind some trees. With a sigh of relief he knelt down for a drink. Suddenly, the bank gave way and he soon found himself head over heels into the murky water._

_The bottom of the pond was filled with all sorts of aquatic plants. Marcus struggled to untangle his leg from one of them. When he couldn't seem to get it out, he felt panic rise in his throat. The harder he pulled on the plant, the tighter it got. His head was getting foggy._

_He was loosing consciousness. Fast._

_The edge of his vision began to turn black and soon he stopped struggling._

"_I'm sorry Austin…" was his last conscious thought._

Lydia and Levak were both wide-eyed when Beetlejuice finished his story. The poltergeist watched as Levak blinked slowly, staring at Beetlejuice with new understanding.

"I said I would keep lookin' for you until I died. Well. I died. And after that things were fuzzy for a while. But I eventually remembered that I was lookin' for you. But I didn't know you had died too. There was no way for me to know."

Levak continued to stare, looking slightly at a loss.

"If I had known, I woulda found you… explained things…" Beetlejuice finished with a shrug.

Levak looked down at his feet, his expression blank.

"All these years… I thought you had abandoned me…" He said quietly.

Lydia was thoroughly confused and her face showed it.

"They held me prisoner you know…" Levak said, finally looking back at Beetlejuice. The poltergeist's eyes widened.

"They experimented on me… all those years they had me strapped to that table, prodding me with needles and talking in a language I couldn't understand… I eventually found a way to end it…"

Beetlejuice looked like he knew what Levak was going to say, but didn't want to hear him say it.

"I ended my own life; bit my tongue and drowned in my own blood. That's why I got sent to Hell and turned into a demon. Turns out that part is true; kill yourself and you go to Hell." Levak smiled half-heartedly. Beetlejuice was virtually speechless for once in his life. To think that his once-best friend had died in such a morbid way; it was almost unbearable.

Beetlejuice took a deep (unneeded) breath before speaking again.

"Levak… Austin. I'm sorry that things ended like they did. I wasn't ready to die, and I'm sure you weren't either. And I'm sorry about how things have been going since then."

He watched as Levak walked over to Lydia, staring at her. Lydia shied away from his gaze. His brow creased before he cut the ropes holding Lydia to the pole. He let her run past him and into Beetlejuice's open arms. He didn't turn around to face them.

"I suppose I have to leave you alone now… let's just forget about everything, Marcus. There's no reason for me to chase you anymore… now that I know what really happened."

Levak tilted his face up to the one window, transforming into the picture of regal elegance. He turned, his blue eyes glowing in the dark room, the early-morning light coming in from the window lighting his purple hair afire. He would have been expressionless if it weren't for the glint of regret in his eyes.

"You can leave… Good bye Marcus." He strode forward and extended his hand. Beetlejuice let go of Lydia, took it and shook it slowly, almost afraid to let go.

"I wish things had been different." He said softly. Levak shrugged and sighed.

"Maybe this is better for both of us…" He met Beetlejuice's eyes and Lydia had a feeling that she had just missed something important.

Beetlejuice finally let Levak's fingers slip from his grip. Lydia watched as Levak smiled one last time before being enveloped in smoke and disappearing.

"Good bye Austin…" Beetlejuice said, staring at the spot where Levak had been.

Lydia watched Beetlejuice sadly as he shed a single tear for his lost friend, scrubbing it away after he saw her looking.

"You guys had history…" Lydia said softly.

"Well obviously. You heard the stories." Beetlejuice said, leading her out of the building with his arm around her shoulders.

"You know what I mean Beej…"

Beetlejuice sighed.

"Yea we did. We were young and in the army; far from home and friends. Everyone needed a little comfort back then. We happened to find it in each other. It wasn't nothin' serious but. It still kinda hurts to see him go, despite how much he's changed." He shrugged.

Lydia hugged his waist tightly, knowing what it was like to lose someone you love.

She paused, rethinking her last statement.

_Someone you… love…?_

Did she love Beetlejuice? She looked up at the blonde man, thinking hard. She could hardly imagine life without him now. She smiled.

"Beej?"

She got a sound of acknowledgement in response. She put her hand against his chest, stopping him. The poltergeist gave her a questioning look.

"Beej, you know I called you to my house by accident right?" Lydia said.

"Yea. So?"

"Well I… actually had been thinking about you…" Lydia looked at her feet.

"Which is why I had the dress on when you showed up…" She blushed.

Beetlejuice blinked and let what Lydia had just said sink in. She had been wearing the dress… the dress he made for their wedding… the light bulb clicked on and he smiled.

"You know that offer still stands." He waggled his eyebrows, making Lydia laugh.

"I'm sure it does." Lydia took his arm as they continued their walk back to the house.

o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Well there you have it. :) My story is complete! I'll have an epilogue for you too. :) Gotta type that up. Tee hee I'm lazy…


	10. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

_6 Months Later_

o-o-o-o-o

"Beej I'm heading to work!" Lydia yelled through the apartment, grabbing her keys from the side table.

Her favorite poltergeist came walking out of their bedroom, looking tired.

"You look awful." She stated. Beetlejuice snorted.

"It's your fault you know. Juno says that cuz I spend so much time in this world that my humanity is coming back. It's not fun." He pouted. Lydia smiled and kissed him softly, noting that his lips were indeed warmer than usual.

"I will gladly take the blame for that." She kissed him again.

"Bye see you after work. Love you!" She yelled as she ran out the door.

"Love you too." She heard Beetlejuice yell before shutting the door.

o-o-o-o-o

Lydia ran into the art studio, prepared to start work on her next piece for the museum when she skidded to a stop. There was a man talking to her supervisor… a man with purple hair and blue eyes. Her heart pounded in her throat as she approached.

"Ah Lydia. Glad you came. I want you to meet a new artist. He just moved here." Her supervisor said.

The man turned to her and Lydia felt her jaw drop. His hair was way shorter than it had been before but there was no doubt…

"Hello Lydia. My name is—"

"Austin."

The man smiled, showing off sharp canines.

"I look forward to working with you." He said. Lydia smiled so wide her cheeks hurt. She extended her hand.

"As do I."

_Fin._


End file.
